degas

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Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas
Painter and sculpture1834-1917
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Edgar Degas
He was born on July 19th, 1834 into an affluent
Paris banking family. As a young man, he studied
at the École des Beaux-Arts. Degas, is considered
as an impressionist.
Before the Ballet 1890/1892, oil on canvas,
National Gallery of Art, Washington
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Edgar Degas

• Late in life, Degas began losing his eyesight,
  and with this loss resorted to a change of
  medium.
• He began seriously to sculpt when he was in
  his early 40s and, although he probably had no
  thought of exhibiting most of his sculpture, his
  modeling increasingly became a major part of his
  work.

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Sketching
Degas repeatedly sketched Marie van Goethem in
preparation for making the sculpture. He drew her
from every angle, circling around her to capture
each look and gesture, posture, head and arm
positions.

•  Edgar Degas, Three Studies of a Dancer in Fourth
  Position, c.1879/1880, charcoal and pastel with
  stumping, with touches of brush and black wash,
  on grayish-tan laid paper with blue fibers
  (discolored from pinkish-blue), laid down on gray
  wove paper, The Art Institute of Chicago

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In 1881, Degas shows eight works of art including
the sculpture "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen." The
wax figure -- dressed in a muslin tutu, fabric
bodice, real slippers, and a wig of real hair --
provokes tremendous controversy, inciting both
violent criticism and fervent praise.
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Little Dancer Aged Fourteen1879-1881

• Marie van Goethem
• daughter of a Parisian laundress and tailor
• one of the ballet "rats" at the Paris Opera.
• For Degas, she represented awkwardness of youth
  and the graceful promise of a great ballerina.
• she stands posed in a relaxed fourth position
• her back arched
• belly forward
• hands clasped tightly behind her back.

Yellow wax, hair,various textiles, wood base99
cm (39 in.)National Gallery of Art, Washington
DC.
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At the time of his death his studio contained
more than 150 wax models which he had made of
dancing girls, race horses and women working or
bathing. With failing eyesight, sculpting became
his principal medium of expression at the end of
his career. Never really successful in life,
Degas was largely discovered as a master after
his death in 1917.
Edgar Degas The Dance Lesson 1879 oil on
canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington